Never underestimate the thrill a professional athlete can have from simply being in the race for something.
Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons left Sunday night’s 119-112 loss to the Detroit Pistons disappointed with the defeat but remained optimistic regarding his team’s chances of earning a Western Conference play-in berth.
“We still not out of it,” Simons said with a smile. “Obviously, every win is going to count for our goal.”
The goal is to reach the postseason for the first time since 2021. Simons has endured three consecutive seasons that ended with tanking. This season appeared to be headed that way when the Blazers were 13-28 on Jan 18. The Blazers have gone 15-9 since to draw within four games of 10th-place Dallas (32-33).
For Simons, playing for something is far more enjoyable.
“Just giving ourselves a chance,” he said. “That’s all you want, to give yourself a chance to be in this position.”
Sunday’s loss to the Pistons and Friday’s loss at Oklahoma City (53-11), which sat all five starters, cost the Blazers (28-37) a chance to pick up two games on the Mavericks. They lost both nights, including Sunday at home to Phoenix. The 11th-place Suns (30-34) lead the Blazers by 2½ games.
Simons, who said weeks ago that he watches the standings, has been analyzing the schedules of the Suns, Mavericks, and ninth-place Sacramento (33-30).
“So we’re just looking at those teams that possibly will be in that bubble at the end of the season,” Simons said. “Just seeing their schedule and if it’s possible for them to get a win. And look at our schedule, see if we can get ourselves on a roll and win a couple of games and put ourselves in a better position.”
Portland Trail Blazers basketball
Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant and center Duop Reath defend against Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham during an NBA game at Moda Center in Portland on Sunday, March 9, 2025.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
Portland, Phoenix and Sacramento have extremely tough remaining schedules. Dallas has the easiest schedule within the group but recently lost star Kyrie Irving (knee) for the season and the Mavericks have lost seven of its last nine games.
“Nobody’s schedule is easy in that bubble,” Simons said. “We’ve got to really string some wins together just to give ourselves a chance.”
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups is taking a different approach to the race.
“I just know that we have to play good basketball,” he said. “When you need help from people, you start looking around for all the help. I don’t like to need nobody. So, I want us to just play well and then see what happens. We just got to keep playing well. We keep playing as hard as we did tonight, get some of those threes to go in, get some other finishes to go in, and we look up two or three weeks and see where we’re at.”
The Blazers have not defeated a winning team since Feb. 6 (Sacramento). They nearly completed a comeback against the Pistons (36-29), but shot just 2 of 12 from three-point range in the fourth quarter.
“We had a chance to win this game,” Simons said. “I think we played well. Just certain plays that didn’t go our way.”
Being weary after returning from a seven-game trip, Simons said, contributed to the team’s slow start.
“On a long road trip, the last game is the worst one because everybody is just eager to get home and you’ve been gone for so long,” Simons said. “And then the first one coming back is always rough.”
The Blazers could easily fail to complete their improbable journey to the postseason, but the experience of playing meaningful games in March and April is positive for the franchise.
“I hope we just keep learning from it, growing from it and each and every year get better,” Simons said.
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)